Bangkok – The U.S. Supreme Court has produced a guilty-until-proven-innocent ruling that effectively allows the Trump Administration to “temporarily” implement a ban on arrivals from most or all nationals from six Muslim-majority countries. The ban effectively bypasses a number of legal and constitutional challenges currently being heard in the lower courts.

According to the American American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), “This decision, which comes on the heels of numerous anti-Muslim tweets from President Trump last week, will serve to stoke anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment across the U.S. This will only contribute to the xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist atmosphere that has gripped the U.S. since President Trump began running for office in 2015.”

The ADC has called for “sustained protest and opposition” to help overturn the ban.

It said in a statement, “It is imperative to understand that the Supreme Court never acts in a vacuum but often in deference to popular opinion. In 1896, the Supreme Court handed down one of its most infamous rulings: Plessy v. Ferguson upholding racial segregation laws with only one justice dissenting. But by 1954, public attitudes had changed so much that the Court adapted to the times and unanimously struck down “separate but equal” in the landmark case Brown v. Broad of Education.

“If the Muslim Ban is allowed to take full effect without a popular backlash, the Trump Administration will argue that the public is on its side and the Court should not cast itself as an outlier. But if the Muslim Ban is met with sustained protest and opposition, our legal challenge will be that much stronger. The Court’s seven justices who voted against us will see that their position is wholly at odds with American values and their countrymen and women.”

Various civil rights and U.S.-Islamic groups have issued statements criticising the Supreme Court decision. Strangely, not a single global travel or transport association has issued a single word of condemnation or criticism. A quick check of the websites of the UN World Tourism Organisation, US Travel Association, Brand USA, the World Travel & Tourism Council, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the International Air Transport Association, Airports Council International and the International Civil Aviation Organisation showed that not a single statement had been issued on this move (as of 1700 hrs Bangkok time), in spite of its enormous implications for and impact on travel worldwide.

A lone statement, which could be best described as “meaningless”, was issued by Association of Corporate Travel Executives. Greeley Koch, executive director of ACTE Global, said:

“ACTE Global’s core goal is to help business travellers travel with certainty and to get to their destinations safely. As governments worldwide seek to implement new border and immigration protections along with new security policies, they must keep in mind two key criteria: One, that the policies must be clear, understandable and easy to follow; and two, that these policies take into account the substantial economic benefits of business travel, both on a domestic and international level, and balance the need for safety with the need for cross-border commerce.

“ACTE will continue to monitor how this ban is implemented and gauge the impact to business travelers in an effort to better help all stakeholders—our membership and government leaders alike—understand how we can best protect national security interests without stifling business and economic growth.”

Here are some of the other statements issued by various civil rights and public action groups.

Announcement by Muslim Advocates

On Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT, Muslim Advocates hosted a community call to help those affected or potentially affected understand the changes to the Muslim ban and ask any questions about what is known so far.

What Just Happened

The Supreme Court just ordered that the third version of the Muslim Ban issued on September 24, 2017 can temporarily go into effect. This is not a ruling on the merits of the case, but it allows the government to implement the ban while several legal challenges remain pending in the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fourth and Ninth Circuits.

What Happens Next

The ban will be in effect until appellate courts in the Fourth and Ninth Circuits rule on several currently pending cases challenging the Muslim Ban, including Muslim Advocates’ case, IAAB v. Trump.

Oral arguments are scheduled for December 6, 2017 before the Ninth Circuit and December 8, 2017 in the Fourth Circuit. We will keep you posted on developments in these cases and what they mean for you.

The ban includes a provision allowing some nationals of impacted countries who wish to enter the United States to seek a case-by-case waiver. All nationals of impacted countries should speak to an immigration attorney before traveling.

Muslim Ban Update alerts are a service of Muslim Advocates, a national legal advocacy and educational organization dedicated to promoting freedom and justice for all. Alerts inform the public to changes in how the Muslim ban is interpreted by the courts, applied by the government, and how they may impact your rights under the law. The information contained in this alert is provided for educational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for expert legal, tax, or other professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

ADC Concerned by SCOTUS Decision on Travel Ban

Washington, DC | www.adc.org | December 5, 2017 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is extremely concerned by the United States Supreme Court’s decision allowing President Donald Trump’s Arab and Muslim Ban 3.0 to go into full effect. The Supreme Court, by a 7-2 ruling, held that the injunction put in place by lower courts against the Ban should be lifted as the lower court cases are fully litigated. The sweeping discriminatory impact this decision is going to have on Arabs and Muslims around the globe is deeply concerning to ADC.

With its ruling, the Supreme Court has validated what numerous lower federal courts have found to be inappropriate and unconstitutional actions by the Trump Administration. This decision, which comes on the heels of numerous anti-Muslim tweets from President Trump last week, will serve to stoke anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment across the U.S. This will only contribute to the xenophobic, Islamaphobic, and racist atmosphere that has gripped the U.S. since President Trump began running for office in 2015.

ADC commits to continuing its fight against the Trump Administration’s Arab and Muslim Bans. ADC will continue to offer pro bono legal assistance for those affected by the Supreme Court’s decision today and will maintain its involvement in the lower court federal cases currently pending. ADC will also continue working tirelessly with its numerous civil rights partners to stand united against the Arab and Muslim Bans. Arabs and Muslims have helped build this country and the ADC will not stand idly by as they are relentlessly attacked by the Trump Administration.

The Supreme Court Just Approved Trump’s Muslim Ban Without Ruling on its Constitutionality – A Truly Dangerous Move

It doesn’t bode well that seven of the nine justices supported the full enforcement of the ban without a hearing. In the past, the Supreme Court often supported the injunctions of lower courts until a final verdict could be issued by the highest court in the land.

The Court’s decision allows the implementation of the ban which may yet prove to be unconstitutional.

Effectively, this means that when the hearing does eventually take place, Trump’s legal team would be able to argue that the Muslim Ban has been in effect for several months and ending it would be disruptive. The Court might be reluctant to overturn established practices. The Court, it must be said, just handed Trump the proverbial Trump Card.

ADC is gravely concerned and is gearing up to challenge this de facto defeat. As Arab and Muslim-Americans, we have to be vigilant. We have to stand up for the rights enshrined in our US Constitution. And, we have to fight back through all the legal means available to us including in the court of public opinion.

The situation is dire and we need your immediate and urgent support to help us in our efforts to fight on behalf of the rights of our community.

It is imperative to understand that the Supreme Court never acts in a vacuum but often in deference to popular opinion. In 1896, the Supreme Court handed down one of its most infamous rulings: Plessy v. Ferguson upholding racial segregation laws with only one justice dissenting. But by 1954, public attitudes had changed so much that the Court adapted to the times and unanimously struck down “separate but equal” in the landmark case Brown v. Broad of Education.

If the Muslim Ban is allowed to take full effect without a popular backlash, the Trump Administration will argue that the public is on its side and the Court should not cast itself as an outlier. But if the Muslim Ban is met with sustained protest and opposition, our legal challenge will be that much stronger. The Court’s seven justices who voted against us will see that their position is wholly at odds with American values and their countrymen and women.

Let there be no doubt that we are the underdog right now, but that is no reason to despair. We must redouble our efforts and fight in the American spirit of equal justice under the law for all.

ADC will never give up the fight but we cannot do it alone.

We need your urgent help.

When the first Muslim Ban was signed back in January, we kept the lights on 24/7 as our office helped stranded travelers around the world, provided legal counsel to countless individuals and rallied ADC members across the country in demonstrations against the Ban.

Over the next several months, with the ban fully enforced like never before, we can expect even more will be required of us.

If we all take a stand right now and forcefully reject this ban, then the Court will surely hear our voice and we may win in the last hour.

We need you to stand up for your rights and those of Arabs and Muslims in the targeted countries. We know what needs to be done but we lack the sufficient financial resources to execute our work.

Please give and give generously and TODAY! Your $35, $75, $115, $270, $555, or $1,000 donation will allow ADC to be vigilant and provide us with the resources to fight for all of our rights. Please, don’t delay, donate right now!

Peace Through Tourism

How Travel & Tourism Can Help Restore the Balance in the Emerging New World Order

"The travel & tourism buzzword of the 21st century will be the search for balance."

That forecast was made by Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire, in the monthly strategic intelligence publication of PATA, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, way back in February 1999. Today, it is proving spot-on as the word "balance" resonates across all industry sectors.

Travel industry conferences seeking a speaker who can offer some unique historical hindsight, unconventional foresight and thought-provoking insight on how to rebuild and restore the balance in Asia Pacific travel & tourism can email Imtiaz Muqbil by clicking here.

There Can Be No Sustainability Without Spirituality

The New World Order will be dominated by a resurgence of spirituality.

Imtiaz Muqbil claims to be the world's only travel journalist to have visited the Holy Spots of all the major world religions -- Lumbhini, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Nalanda, Jerusalem, Vatican City, Amritsar, Makkah, Madinah, Najaf and Karbala, as well as religious spots such as Angkor Wat, Bagan, Shwedagon Pagoda, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of The Tooth, Somnath Temple, Samarkand, Bukhara and many other great mosques, shrines, temples and cathedrals worldwide.

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Secrets of Thailand's Tourism Success

Why the Amazing Kingdom is notching up record-breaking arrivals, and what challenges it faces next

The Thai tourism industry has become by far the Kingdom's most successful service sector, one of its leading job-creators and foreign exchange-earners. Behind this success lies a fascinating history of great branding campaigns, policy and regulatory changes, budgetary bunfights, strategic thinking and influence of Royal events.

But this success has now bred a new set of management challenges that may be more difficult to overcome.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has been monitoring the pulse of the Thai travel industry full-time since 1981. Industry conferences and management meetings wishing to benefit from a treasure trove of insights and hindsights on one of the world's great tourism success stories can drop an email here: imtiaz@travel-impact-newswire.com.

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The Rise of the Whistle-Blowers

For 15 years (January 1997-July 2012), Imtiaz Muqbil penned a hard-hitting fortnightly column called “Soul-Searching” in the so-called “newspaper you can trust”. In July 2012, the column was gagged, with no explanation.

Over the years, four columns had explicitly forecast the rise of whistle-blowers -- a prediction now coming 100% true. Read the four columns by clicking on the links below.

Too Bad Your Ad Is Not in This Spot

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If your product is not meeting any of the above goals, please advertise elsewhere.

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News Vs Noise

A Unique Course for Travel & Tourism Communicators In The Internet Era

By far the vast majority of media communications in the travel industry is boring, banal and bland. The same way it has been for the last 30 years.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has designed a special communications course to help upgrade both the context and the content of industry media material, and make it more interesting, readable and, most important, relevant.